Observability: Logs, Metrics & Tracing
Understand what slows your services down and where errors begin.
A dashboard does not yet show why an important process becomes slow. Usable observability connects technical signals to the processes of your application. We develop appropriate instrumentation and make connections between services visible, so that development and operations can limit disruptions in a more targeted manner and assess the impact of changes.
Service modules
Capture the right signals and make them usable in operation.
Critical workflows and measurement goals
We start with the processes that are important for users and the business. From this, we derive observation questions, required signals and gaps in the existing recording. Technical key figures are assigned to a specific purpose.
A prioritized measurement plan along your key services and user workflows.
Application instrumentation
We add suitable instrumentation for selected application paths and check the influence on runtime and data volume. Existing libraries and standards such as OpenTelemetry are taken into account as long as they fit the language and architecture.
A proven instrumentation with documented signals and tested runtime behavior.
Connecting logs, metrics and traces
Service, environment, and version information are given a consistent structure. Where technically possible, requests are tracked across service boundaries and relevant logs are assigned. This allows errors and delays to be investigated in context.
A comprehensible diagnostic path from the conspicuous process to the components involved.
Telemetry processing and retention
We plan the collection, processing and storage of telemetry, including access rights and retention. Sensitive content, filtering, high cardinality and sampling are deliberately handled in order to balance data volume and informative value.
Documented data processing with appropriate access and controllable data volume.
Dashboards and alerting
Views are tailored to specific roles and diagnostic tasks. Alarms receive clear triggers, receivers and instructions for action; recurring false alarms and missing signals are examined on the basis of real operating cases.
Usable operational views and alarms whose response and responsibility are clarified.
Diagnostics and platform operations
We check typical error and load situations together with the teams. The recording itself is also observed: missing data, overload and interruptions in the data path should be recognizable.
Proven diagnostic workflows and operational knowledge for application and observability infrastructure.
Application examples
Observability: Logs, Metrics & Tracing Use Cases
These exemplary starting points show possible projects. Together, we narrow down what makes sense for your organization.
Isolate Distributed Causes of Failure
A business process runs across multiple services and becomes sporadically slow. We instrument a representative path, connect existing signals, and make dependencies and relevant delays traceable.
Reduce the flood of alarms
The operations team receives many messages with no clear need for action. We check triggers, receivers and consequences, arrange alarms according to service effect and add concrete instructions for action for the remaining messages.
Get a grip on telemetry costs
Logs and metrics grow faster than their value. We analyze data sources, retention, and high-volume attributes, and test customizations without losing significant diagnostic capabilities unnoticed.
Collaboration
From a concrete operational question to a usable diagnosis.
Identify questions and available telemetry
We select important user sequences and record existing signals, tools and diagnostic problems. This results in a limited initial measurement scope.
Plan instrumentation and processing
Signal structure, processing, access and storage are coordinated. We determine which data is actually required and which content should not be recorded.
Implement and investigate test incidents
The selected application path is instrumented. We use controlled test cases to check correlation, dashboards and alerting as well as possible data gaps.
Integrate into daily operations
The teams use the diagnostic paths themselves. We document responsibilities, data maintenance and open improvements and coordinate further expansion according to benefits.
Your result
What you can use in concrete terms
- Measurement and instrumentation concept for the agreed services and processes.
- Configured telemetry processing with regulated access and retention.
- Dashboards, alarm rules and instructions for action for specific operational tasks.
- Comprehensible diagnostic examples and a plan to maintain data quality and costs.
SYNEDAT PLATFORM
Platform experience for your project
We use these selected tools in SYNEDAT PLATFORM or its delivery processes. We adapt suitable practices to your project and align their integration with your existing systems.
Deployment and platform automation
Kubernetes · Azure Kubernetes Service · Helm · Argo CD · Terraform
Versioned configuration and declarative deployment connect infrastructure and applications. GitOps makes proposed changes reviewable and the desired state explicit. Operational transitions and recovery procedures are still planned for the specific application.
Repeatable changes and clearer responsibility boundaries.
Observability and operations
Prometheus · Grafana · Alloy · Loki · Tempo
Metrics, logs and traces provide different views of applications and platforms. We organize data sources, dashboards and alert paths around specific operating questions. Retention, sensitive data and costs are considered when planning data collection.
Better incident diagnosis and informed operating decisions.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do we need to replace the existing monitoring tools?
Not automatically. We check which questions the existing data and tools already answer. Often, the greatest benefit comes from better instrumentation, consistent assignment and coordinated alerting. A change is evaluated on the basis of specific requirements for use, operation and costs.
Does OpenTelemetry replace storage and evaluation?
OpenTelemetry provides, among other things, APIs, libraries and components for the generation and processing of telemetry. Suitable connected systems are required for permanent storage, search, visualization and alerting. We design these building blocks as a coherent data path.
Should all requests and logs be stored permanently?
The scope should correspond to the diagnostic needs. Complete recording can cause high costs and include unnecessary sensitive content. We coordinate filtering, sampling and retention and check whether the required informative value is retained on the basis of selected error cases.
How do we reduce alerts that nobody acts on?
We assign a purpose, an owner and a possible response to alerts. Thresholds, relationships and maintenance situations are reviewed. An agreed notification route with clear instructions helps distinguish actionable incidents from information-only events.
Can technical and business metrics be considered together?
Yes, when suitable data is available and its meaning is clear. Response times can, for example, be considered alongside the success of a business workflow. We agree definitions, access and presentation so dashboards support specific decisions.
Your next step
What question can your monitoring not answer today?
Describe an error that is difficult to explain or a critical application path. We clarify which signals are missing and how an initial usable diagnosis can be created.
Observability: Logs, Metrics & Tracing
Your next step
Tell us what you need. We will route your enquiry to the right team and discuss the next steps with you.
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